Safety car-fender



' (No Model.) Y v2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. J. OGDEN. SAFETY OAR FENDER.

Patented FebQZO, 1894.

wrmzsszs: INVEN'T'EIR ATTORNEY" 2 SheetsSheet 2.

(No Model.) I

W. J. OGDEN.

SAFETY-GAR FENDER. 7 'No. 515,157.- Patented Feb. 20, 1894.

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INVEN'T' U'R WITNEE 5E5:

625M Ki I 0 CAM AT T DRNEY mares Unitas ATENT SAFETY CAR-FENDER.

- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters'Patent No. 515,157, dated February 20, 1894.

Application filed September 7,1893- SerialNm 48510 To 0. whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. OGDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Car-Fenders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a safety-guard or fender for street cars.

The object of the invention is to provide more efficient means for preventing injury to persons who may be run down by the car.

In order to make the improvements more clearly understood I have shown in the accompanying drawings means for carrying the same into practical effect, without however intending to limit my invention to the particular construction shown, as the construction may be varied.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a car showing my invention applied-the guard having the normal vertical position. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of one of the upward-inclined guard-supports. Fig.3 is a sectional view of one of the downward-inclined supports and parts connected therewith. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the guard. Fig. 5 is a top or plan view of same. Fig. 6 is a side view of the guard-supports and shows the position the flexible guard or curtain takes when it encounters a person who has been run down by a car. Fig. 7 is-a side view of the guardsupports and shows the position the parts take when the motorman or gripman perceives a person who has fallen on the track. Fig. 8 is an edge view showing the clutch device with which the flexible guard is provided.

The letter, A, designatesthe front part of the car; in this instance it is the front of a platform with which the car is provided, but it is immaterial for the purpose of my invention whether the car has a platform or not. Four inclined supports for the guard are suitably attached to the front of the car, two of these, designated B, are upwardly-inclined, and two others, designated 0, are downwardly-inclined; these latter project in line with the track rails so that the ball or enlargement, O, projecting from their lower ends, will be directly over the track-rails, and may be extended to slide thereon should occasion make it necessary, as hereinafter set forth. All

(No model.)

these supports, are tubular, and may be attached to the front of the car in any preferred way; in the present instance the attachment is by means of a metal head,.D, which has an arm, a, securely bolted to a beam, 1), under the car-platform; this head is provided with two faces, 0, 0', each having an inclination to suit respectively the. upward and downwardly-inclined supporting tubes, B, C, and a socket is in each inclined face, and said tubes.

are attached thereto by the end of each tube being screwed into one of the sockets. It will be understood two metal heads, D, are thus required for one end of the car.

Each upwardly-inclined tube, B, has in its lower end a spiral spring, d, one end ofwhich is secured at d in the bottom, and said spring is normally collapsed and then offers no resistance so that it exerts a tensile resistance only when extended; a pulley, e, is suitably mounted at the upper end of this tube and a wire cord or chain,f, has one end attached atf' to the free end of the spiral spring and from this point of attachment the wire cord, or chain, passes up the tube and over the said pulley, e, to the outside of the tube and then down and at its end has a ringor eye, f*.

A ring or collar, g, surrounds the tube, B, loosely so as to be free to slide thereon, and

this sliding ring is attached to the ring or eye, 7

f at the end of the wire-cord or chain.

Each downwardly inclined tube, 0, has a rod, h, loose within it and projecting out from its lower end,the end of the rod being provided with a ball or enlargement, 0'; this red has endwise movement Within the tube.

A spiral spring, 2', is also within the tube and is compressed between the end of the rod and the upper end of the tube; this spring is resisting or pressing on the rod, 71, and its function is to force the rod out and causeits ball or enlargement, G, to be extended down from the lower end of the tube until said ball meets the track-rails. The rod, h, has a notch,

h, and the tube has a, slot, 7 a trigger o'r O, elevated above the track-rail. The trigger, j, in the present instance has the form of a bell-crank lever, and a spring, f keeps the trigger engaged; a wire or cord, j, connects with it and extends to a treadle or foot-press, E, on the floor of the car. As here shown the treadle is retained in an upward position by a spring, 70, and the cord, j, passes first through a suitable loop or eye support, and then down to the lower end of the shank, 10 of the treadle. The motorman may depress the treadle, E, with his foot, and thereby the triggers, j, will release the rod, h, whereupon the springs, 'i, will extend the rods until the balls, 0', meet the track-rail. If the car be running at this time the ball will slide along upon the rail which is the action desired and for a purpose hereinafter setforth.

The guard, F, is a flexible screen or curtainlike device having, normally, (that is, when the car isrunning under ordinary safe conditions) a vertical-position at the forward end, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.. This guard may be made of strong canvas,such, for instance, asicotton duck, or of other suitable material. Each corner of the curtain-like guard has a snap-hook, Z; each of these hooks at the two uppe'r-corners engages with one of the rings or eyes, f, at the end-of the cords or chains, f, while the hooks at the two lower corners engage with eyes, h on the balls, 0'. Thelower horizontal edgeof the guard-curtain is provided with a wire-rope, m, which extends across from one corner to the other, and at the center this wire-rope has a joint, n. As the car moves along the track in ordinary running,:this wire rope is carried about three to five inches above the street surface. The guard curtain has an opening or cut-away part, 0, at its central upper part; this opening is the same width and height of the usual passage-way through the dash-board or fender, G, of those carswhich are employed with trailers, that is, where two or more cars are runcoupledtogether,-and horizontal cords, 19, extend crosswise of said opening or cutaway. Theguard-curtain is prpvided on its front surface with clutch devices, Q, which are adapted to engage the clothing of a person who may be run down by the car, and sustain him and keep him up on the guard. These clutch devices comprise special wireteeth, r, set in a backing, s, of fabric or leather, as in Fig. '8. The backing, s, is in the shape of vertical strips properly secured to the front surface of the guard, and the wire teeth, 7', have angle-bends, similar to the article known as a card in woolen and cotton manufacture. The angle-bends of the wire teeth are so placed relative to the front surface of the guard,thatalltheteethpointupward. When these teeth are pressed from below upward, or when pressed in a direct horizontal line from the front toward the Vertical surface of the guard, they will yield,but in a direction from above downward the teeth are unyielding. B

means of theseclutches, the moment the guard encounters a person, the wire teeth clutch or engage the clothing, and while a person may move upward when pressing or leaning against these teeth, it will be impossible for him to slip down, as the numerous upwardpointing teeth will sustain him without inj uring him.

The curtain-like guard has at its top edge and at the center a hook, t, and the front of the car at side has an eye, t. If it is desired to temporarily displace thecurtain-like guard from its normal position, shown in Figs. 1 and 4, so as to open the passage-way, 0, in the dash-board or fender, G, such displacement would be effected as follows: the upper and lower snap-hooks, Z, at one side of thecurtain-guard would be disengaged'and'the curtain-guard folded on a line vertical from the lower joint, n, so as to bring the tworvertical side edges together; the upper disengaged snap-hookwonld then beengaged with the same ring or eye, f, as the otherupper snaphook, and then the curtain-guard .would be swung like a door, the engaged snap-hooks acting as hinges-and the hook, 23, would then be engaged with the eye, t, as shown in .Fig.'4=.

From the foregoing description the operation of the invention will be easilyxun'derstood and may be briefly stated as. follows: in the ordinary running of the car-the safety guard is in the position shown in .Fig. l and ready for use; this position is vertical orupright and in front of the end of the car and projecting forward therefrom. face of this curtain-like guard willbe painted in a color-corresponding with the predominantcolor of the car and thus as the .carapproaches it will be conspicuous. This conspicuous front is the foremost part of the entire device. This upright. curtain-guard, by means of the devices described, is adapted, when it strikes a person, to change or shift itsupright position to another'position, for instance like that shown in Fig.6,which is better adapted to receive and hold .the person struck. When a'person is struck the curtain guard will yield by the weight of the person bearing against it, and. the person instead of having a hard fall, will-be partly sustained and, as it were, lowered by-the yielding guard into the position indicated by'Fig. 6.

As the lower part of the curtain guard is attached to rods,'h, which-are capable of moving outward and downward until the balls, 0, meet the track-rails, it follows that the horizontal wire rope, m, and lower edgeof the curtain may be lowered until they come in contact-with the surface of the street, as indicated in Fig. 7, and as the car moves they will scrape over the said street surface, and pick up a child or a person who mayhave fallen on the track.

It will be understood that I contemplate varying the construction of difierent parts of The front sur- IIO my invention and that such variations or modifications are included in the claimshereinafter stated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. In a safety guard for cars, the combination of the two upper supports projecting forward from the car; a collar-like device, g, surrounding each of the said supports and free to move or slide thereon; a flexible or curtain-like guard, F, having its two upper corners connected with the said movable collar-like device and its lower part connected with suitable lower supports-said guard being held norlnallyin an upright position and projected beyond the end of the car; and means whereby, when a person is struck by the guard, the upper part of said guard and the collar-like devices will shift their position and thereby allow the curtaindike guard to sag and receive the person who may be struck.

2. In a safety guard for cars, the combination of the upper tubular supports; a spiral spring secured in said upper supports; a cord or chain attached to the spring in said supports; the lower tubular supports; a rod movable within said lower supports and projecting at one end; a spring to force the rod out; and an upright flexible or curtain-like guard having its upper part attached to the said cords or chains in the upper supports and its lower part attached to the projecting ends of the rods in the lower supports.

3. Ina safety guard for cars, the combination of the upwardly-inclined supports; a spring-retracted cord or chain on said upward supports; an upright flexible or curtain-like guard having its upper part attached to said spring-retracted cords or chains; a ring su'rrounding-each of said upright supports and free to slide thereon and connecting with the end of the cord or chain which is attached to the said guard; and means by which the lower part of said guard is supported.

4. In a safety guard for cars, the combination of the lower tubular supports attached to the car; a rod movable within each of said supports and projecting therefrom at the lower end; a spring to force each rod out; an upright flexible or curtain-like guard having its lower part attached to the projecting end of .said rod; and means to support the upper part of said guard.

5. In a safety guard for cars, the combination of the lower tubular supports attached to the car; a rod movable within each of said supports and projecting therefrom at the lower end; a spring to force each rod out; a trigger catch attached to the tubular support and holding the rod in the retracted position; an upright flexible or curtain-like guard having its lower part attached to the projecting end of said rod; and means to support the upper part of said guard.

6. In a safety guard for cars, the combination of a flexible curtain-like guard supported at the front of the car; and a wire rope extending horizontally across the lower edge of the said guard and attached thereto and provided at its center with a joint.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

' WVILLIAM J. OGDEN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES B. MANN, J r., L. IsMY VAN HORN. 

